Fraudster on run tracked down by Enfield Council

A man who received £6,873.38 of taxpayers money he was not entitled to has been brought to justice by Enfield Council.

Investigators tracked the fraudster down and successfully prosecuted David Aninakwah 2½ years after he failed to attend court then disappeared.

Aninakwah, 29, formerly of Swan House, High Street, Enfield was sentenced to a 24 month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £200 costs within 28 days at Tottenham Magistrates Court on 22 May.

He pleaded guilty to dishonestly failing to notify Enfield Council and the Department of Work and Pensions that he had become a student and received £20,701 in student loans and grants between 2007 and 2010.

He also fraudulently claimed £5,157.97 in Housing Benefit between 2008 and 2010 and £1,715.41 in Jobseekers Allowance between 2006 and 2010. When originally summoned to court he went on the run, finally he was located in 2014 and was brought to justice.

Cllr Andrew Stafford, Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance and Property said “It is great news to know that yet another fraudster has been caught and stopped from claiming benefits to which they are not entitled.

“As well as the sentence handed down by the courts we will do everything in our power to recoup this stolen money. We will not rest until every benefit fraudster living in Enfield has been tracked down and stopped.”